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You gotta read this one.
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If you like mysteries, action, twists, turns and deep thought all roled into one, you will love this book.
The story takes place in the central valley of California. Paul Dogolov, the main character, is complex and driven. He becomes convinced that one of his students (he teaches in a prison) is innocent of a murder and he embarks on a quest to find the truth.
This book is a must read for anyone that enjoys a well written, interesting and thought provoking novel.
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There, Dogolov falls for a female prison guard as well as for a story of innocence by one of the members of his prison writers group. The young man, Travis Wells, was convicted of murdering his grandfather, as well as his half-brother and -sister, with a baseball bat. Compelled to look into it in much in the same way he's drawn to the prison guard who soon spends the night, Dogolov finds himself in real trouble. He's investigating in Joshua Crest, a small desert town where the police, judges, and others don't want him nosing.
Once Dogolov is caught up in the intrigue, the book is utterly brilliant. The tone reminds me of Dashiell Hammett's "Red Harvest," perhaps because the portrait of Joshua Crest is as bleak and compelling as Hammett's Poisonville, and the narrator is a kind of modern Continental Op, dark-humored, self-effacing, and in need of the truth--which is to say why I'm in awe.
Each chapter ends with a dramatic punch, and the action is constantly engaging and just wonderfully odd and bold. For instance, when Travis's ex-girlfriend Millie decides to not only tell him of a motel but go there with him, I was on the edge. Who did she call? Was he going to get a slug from a .45? Then she strips because her costume chaffs. I love the sentence, "I ached for her, not only in a sexual way, but in the way you ache to come near to astounding art."
Other lines spoke deeply to me, too, perhaps because of the way life's come at me. For instance: "I thought how rare it was even for the bravest not to be crushed and broken by the force of life...in jobs, marriages, relationships with children and friends; dreams; ideals." And the line: "There are small things in this life that are can openers to the soul." I teach English at Santa Monica College, and I'm going to assign this book next semester to help in my never-ending quest to have students discover that novels can be both engaging and enlightening.
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An event that had a significant impact on the development of his skills occurred when he was a teenager and became paralyzed for a time, unable to move anything except his eyes. During this time, in order to avoid extreme boredom, he studied the most minute details of the body language and speech patterns of the people around him. This led him to a deep understanding of how unconscious processes affect behavior, and how change almost always occurs at the unconscious or subconscious level.
The reader should take particular note of the anecdotes involving his own children, which indicate that like Erickson, they turned out to be remarkable individuals. Some of the anecdotes that involve how he dealt with his own children's behavior illustrate what a remarkable parent he was, and how being such a parent does in fact produce amazing children. For example, it is discussed in the book how it was only necessary to discipline one of his daughters three times in her life.
This book is required reading for any psychologist, psychiatrist, psychotherapist, hypnotist, parent, or anyone who has an interest in human behavior and the most effective way to institute change in such behavior.
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But what about HOW these comedians made laughs...how they were inspired...what specific techniques they used and did not use...and what advice they would give anyone interested in going into any area of comedy?
Those have been tough answers to get. To do it you'd have to buy a slew of good and sometimes rotten bios, many of them out of print. Until now. Stand-up comedian Larry Wilde's Great Comedians Talk About Comedy brings it all together.
Great Comedians is a superb, singular achievement that collects within one lively, 402-page, info-packed volume, detailed interviews done over several years with some of the 20th century's greatest comedians and comedy actors.
The selection is absolutely mind-boggling: Woody Allen, Milton Berle, Shelly Berman, Jack Benny, Joey Bishop, George Burns, Johnny Carson, Maurice Chevalier, Phyllis Diller, Jimmy Durante, Bob Hope, Dick Gregory, George Jessle, Jerry Lewis, Jerry Seinfeld, Danny Thomas and Ed Wynn.
Each interview is presented in straight Q&A format so you get to "hear" the question and "hear" the response, from what the comedian/comedy actor says to his/her own speech pattern. These folks worked in venues from vaudeville, to radio, to night clubs, to radio to early silent movies to talkies to TV. And their responses to questions contain revelations and constant inspiration.
A key theme: how "making it" in comedy requires timing, good material, dogged persistance, constant analysis of jokes/laughs and being LIKEABLE to an audience. Copying someone's stage personna or stealing their jokes just won't do it.
My favorite interviews were with Woody Allen (how he writes ten jokes on everything from matchbooks to napkins and only uses a few; how he won't try jokes out on friends since they're often too negative; how audience appeal MATTERS...and his pointing to Jackie Gleason as someone who often had a lousey show but people loved him), Jack Benny (the importance of learning comedy and advancing step by step...an explanation of his legendary timing), Joey Bishop ("...Luck cannot sustain you.Only talent can sustain you.."), George Burns (tips on timing, attitude and the importance emulating but not copying other performers), Phyllis Diller (five truly SUPERB short inspirational tips that can advance MANY careers...Her high laugh per minute standards), and Jerry Seinfeld (timing, getting into a focused mental framework and how his love of comedy as a kid blossomed).
This book an essential for ANYONE interested in comedy, or for students of comedy, public speakers, or anyone who simply wants to be funny in public. It's ALL HERE: the inspiration, the tips, the stories, the bios...the TOOLS.
It's now a cliche to say "comedy isn't easy" and the whole process is mysterious. Larry Wilde's Great Comedians Talk About Comedy makes it less mysterious and -- a a bit easier.
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Forbes finds himself in the middle of this mess when several young Carolina women die as a result of botched abortions involving experimental IUD's. The Feds pour on the heat and Forbes is wrongly accused of prescription drug theft and sales. His life is further shattered when his faithless wife leaves him taking with her Forbes's four beloved sons. Forbes sets out to put his life and reputation right and he has to fight mighty odds. If and how he is to succeed makes great suspense and a powerful read. Get the book and read it now. It won't wait for a "Rainy Day" or a "Sunday."
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oh...was truely great enjoyment... a must read...
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THE GOOD: 1) It is small and easily transportable. This makes it especially pleasing to the university crowd. 2) It has quite a lot of words. All of these entries mean that I was almost always able to find the word that I was looking for. 3) Useful entries. The entries include all of the stuff that you would usually find in a foreign language dictionary, but they are also incredibly tailored to Arabic learners. For example, the verbs in the dictionary include Roman numerals indicating the meanings of the derived stems - and believe you me - this was very nice! Also, the nouns include the plural forms - also a very helpful feature. 4) While the Arabic words in the dictionary don't have diacritical marks indicating Arabic vowel sounds, it does have phonetic transliterations. This makes it easy to pronounce unfamiliar words, plurals and case endings.
THE BAD: 1) It is a small paperback dictionary. This makes for two problems - the covers wear out extremely fast, and the book doesn't stay open to any page without some sort of major intervention. 2) This dictionary is for MODERN WRITTEN Arabic only! This is too bad, because you won't find and spoken colloquialisms or dialect expressions. In fact, the first six pages of the book explain the problems and difficulties associated with creating a multi-use Arabic dictionary. 3) There are no example sentences for the entries. This would have been useful for those "ten definitions" type of words. 4) There are no appendices. Also too bad. 5) I said it before, and I'll say it again: this dictionary is not for anyone who does not have at least some Arabic under his or her belt! Users need to know how to read and write in Arabic, as well as how to look up words based on their root. If you can't do these, or have no intention of ever learning how - then you shouldn't get this book.
Even though I have written more bad things than good things, I just want to make it clear that this is an incredibly useful dictionary for serious Arabic learners. In fact, as far as I could tell, it was THE ONLY DICTIONARY among my colleagues. Worth every dinar!
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The book begins with sections on France and England. The next section is "The Periphery" dealing with Russia, Poland, Scandinavia, Germany, Italy, and Iberia. After the geographically oriented sections, the reader is treated to sections organized along intellectual topics, such as science, philosophy, and faith and reason, which contain chapters dealing with specific philosophers or scientists. The conclusion wraps it all up with the denouement of Louis XIV.
This book makes the 17th century understandable. The premier character of the era was Louis XIV, the Sun King of France. During his reign, the policies of he and his ministers established France's day in the sun. Absolute ruler of the most populous and powerful kingdom in Western Europe, Louis made France the center of Western Civilization. On these pages we learn about the Fronde, the revolt by the nobility at the rising of his Sun, from which Louis acquired his life long aversion to Paris, Louis' aggressive support of Catholicism, while at the same time maintaining illicit personal relationships, and his generous support for the arts. This era, rich in French literature and theatre, as represented in Moliere, is revealed.
The forces threatening to rend the Catholic Church further asunder, as well as the relationship between King and Pope, are dealt with in detail. I was surprised to learn that Louis exercised a power over the Church in France similar to that which Henry VIII had previously established over the Church in England.
England, meanwhile, endured Cromwell, The Stuart Restoration, and the Glorious Revolution, while spawning Milton, Dryden, Swift and other literary giants.
Interesting contrasts are illustrated. Whereas in France the monarchy was strengthened into absolutism, England was making hesitating steps toward democracy. Whereas Louis excluded much of the nobility from government and military service, essentially forcing them into the role of idle rich, the English nobility gradually gained power and responsibility for the governance of their country. We can see how these trends may have encouraged the resentment of the aristocrats on the part of the French peasantry, which may have contributed to the intensity of feeling during The Terror of the French Revolution. By contrast, the empowerment of the English nobility may have helped solidify the tradition of peaceful political maturation.
On the Periphery, Charles XII brought Sweden to the zenith of its international power, while Peter the great modernized Russia. Germany survived the onslaught of the Turks, while Italy and Iberia, the "Old Europe" of the day, slid through an era of decline.
Intellectually the era was one of giants. Many of the names with which we are familiar come alive as we read of Isaac Newton, Thomas Hobbes, John Lock, Spinoza, Leibniz and others.
The conclusion of the era was the sunset of the Sun King. Having exhausted his country with dynastic war, bled it with unequal taxation and incurred the enmity of the world, Louis negotiated a peace which left his kingdom a shattered hulk of its former greatness.
For anyone desiring an introduction to the history of the 17th century, this is a great place to start. It has me ready for other books in the Durants' "Story of Civilization".
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The focus of this book is not on political and military history but on the history of religion, art, literature, science and philosophy. Or I can say politics is deeply involved in religion, art, literature and philosophy. I have never studied European philosophy before, and I thought it would be exttremely difficult to understand philosophy. But while I was reading this book, I found that phlosophy could be much easier when it was explained in a political context of the times.
And in this book English history was emphasized as much as French history. It is quite natural because Louis himself was deeply involved in and greatly responsible for the 17th century English history, and Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were Englishmen.
I believe that this book is the best book I've ever read. I'd like to read all 12 volumes of Will & Ariel Durant's "The History of Civilization" series.
By the way, I found 2 trivial mistakes in this book.
According to p 505, Halley identified another comet, seen in 1680, with one observed in the year of Christ's death; he traced its recurrence every 575 years, and from the periodicity he computed its orbit and speed around the sun. According to my own calculation, however, 575 x 2 + 33 = 1183, while 575 x 3 + 33 = 1758.
According to p 513, Mariotte amused his friends by showing that "cold" could burn: with a concave slab of ice he focused sunlight upon gunpowder, causing it to explode. To focus sunlight, however, we need a convex lens, not a concave lens.
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Thematically, the book is erected upon the scaffolding of the Le Roi Soleil's life. They present his wars, mistresses, patronage of art, political autocracy as well as murderous bigotry. In my opinion, in their conclusion they let Louis off far too lightly. He was a man who countenanced, nay, actually encouraged and gloried not only in wars to dominate Europe--a common enough failing amongst the crowned--but in the Persecution of the Huguenots he left a blot on his record that, in light of the deadly century we just left and the religious fanaticism of 11 September, should sink his record in the humanitarian sense.
His vanity and thirst for "la glorie" (which he admitted himself to have been his worst failing) bankrupted France and left the Peasants in a savage and degrading poverty they hadn't experienced since the calamities of the 14th century. His refusal to use his power to actually reform government and tax the nobility mark his reign as regressive and disastrous in many ways. Still his impeccable taste in the visual and plastic arts-as opposed to his love of second-rate playwrights and third-rate opera--make him the supreme art patron in history. And the prestige and admiration that accumulated acted as a sort of bank that his incompetent, worthless successor cruised upon. Only under sixteenth Louis did the credit of the Sun King's name finally run out...
Still, the Durants must credited for making this error sparkle and shimmer with life and the lovely prose still entrances and pleases regardless of how dull or recondite the subject might be. Again, they are two of the greatest of all American writers. Someday, I hope, they will be acknowledged as such.